


Bracelet

by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker)



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort?, Post-Squip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 20:16:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16919694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Harker/pseuds/Beth%20Harker
Summary: A small gift has the potential to make a big difference.





	Bracelet

Michael’s wrists are covered in bracelets, rubber-band thin bits of plastic tubing that he gets for three tickets at the local arcade, just one ticket more than those dumb spider rings that are too small to fit the fingers of anyone older than five.

(It says a lot about how long Jeremy has known Michael, that he can still remember him as a little boy, cackling as he shows his “scary” spider-bedecked fingers to his mothers.)

Michael’s wrists are covered in bracelets, rubber-band thin bits of plastic tubing that he gets for three tickets at the local arcade.

(Jeremy is in Michael's basement. There's a movie going, but he's lost track of the action, so it's more white noise than anything else at this point.)

The bracelets on Michael’s wrist cost three tickets at the arcade. They’re black. There are a few colored ones. Those cost four tickets. 

( Jeremy is curled up against Michael, fiddling with the bracelets. He uses his fingers to turn them on Michael’s wrist, to push them towards and away from each other, to twist them around.) 

Black bracelets cover Michael’s wrists. There are eight of them on the left, plus two colored ones. That's twenty-four tickets, one shy of enough to buy a mini chocolate bar. 

( The movie ends. Jeremy only notices because Michael nudges him to look up, and the credits are rolling. ) 

“You want me to drive you home, man?” 

Jeremy lets go of the bracelets and Michael’s wrists, smoothly detaching himself from his friend. He stands up and walks to the door. 

”Right,” Michael says. “Gonna take that as a yes.” 

There's nothing weird about Jeremy not saying much on the way home, but it's strange that Michael doesn't. He's used to Jeremy’s blanked out silences, but he's also gotten into the habit of doing anything from singing to reciting lists of Wikipedia trivia to fill them. Not today. 

“Hey!” Michael says, too abruptly, when they pull into the Heere driveway. He tugs at his bracelets a moment, then slides one off, holding it out for Jeremy. “You take this, okay?” 

Jeremy blinks. He nods. “Thanks,” he says, but Michael pulls back before he can take it. 

“I remember, before the Squip, you always used to—” Michael holds up his hands, opening and closing them several times, an imitation of one of the many nervous habits that the Squip managed to stamp out of Jeremy. “—and I've been reading up on stuff since my autism diagnoses, and what you were doing was completely normal for people with a lot of other stuff, like autism, but also anxiety or whatever, and I know that fucking defective tic-tac in your brain didn't like it, but get this! What if we mutually decided that this bracelet is made out of Squip bullshit immune material?” 

“You mean plastic?” 

Michael rubs the back of his neck. “Just work with me here, man. That shit stain robot was activated with Mountain Dew. Fucking Mountain Dew. How random is that? Why shouldn't plastic help deal with the after-effects? You know, plastic, or orange jello, or Watson’s lemon flavored tonic water… literally whatever. It'd make about as much sense.”

Jeremy sucks in a breath. Michael is saying lots of words. If Jeremy tries hard enough, if he shuts off his bullshit filter and just believes, then maybe a useless bracelet can be more than a useless bracelet. Part of him expects the Squip to pop up from the back seat, like a ghost in a horror movie, and take Michael and this new treasure away from him. He nods, accepts the gift. Nothing terrible happens. Even when Michael hands the bracelet over to Jeremy, and it's in Jeremy's hands, nothing bad happens. This could be the the end of bad things happening. 

Heading back to his house, bracelet crushed tightly in his closed fist, Jeremy turns to wave at Michael. He's puts it on as soon as he's inside.


End file.
